What is God study guide

Referencing the Westminster Shorter Catechism; What is God?

God is a Spirit, infinite, eternal, and unchangeable in His being, wisdom, power, holiness, goodness, justice, and truth.

Referencing the Westminster Shorter Catechism; How many persons are there in the Godhead?

There are three persons in the Godhead; the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit; and these three are one God, same in substance, equal in power and glory.

he two questions we ask in theology are…

What is God and Who is God

In Theology, we are dependent upon God revealing (through Scripture) Himself to us, and although we can know him ___, we can not know Him ____

truly and completely

explores his nature/essence

WHAT is God

explores his personhood/identity

WHO is God

communicable attributes

attributes God shares with his image bearers

incommunicable attributes

Attributes reserved for Godalone

Gods incommunicable attributes (SIMPLE)

self existence, immutability,matchless,present,limitless,entire

What term refers to God's attribute of self-existen

aseity

In the SIMPLE acrostic for God's incommunicable attributes, what does the letter 'E' stand for?

entire( His entire self is a single essence; divine simplicity)

How do humans possess communicable attributes compared to how God possesses them?

b. God possesses them infinitely, perfectly, and independently; humans possess them finitely, imperfectly, and dependently.

Which church father used the analogy of humans being mirrors that reflect the attributes of God?

augustine

According to the study guide, how does sin affect our ability to reflect God's attributes, and what is the process of restoring it?

Sin shattered the mirror; sanctification is the process where God puts the mirror back together and gradually smooths out the cracks.

Which of the following is categorized as a Moral attribute of God?

grace

Wisdom, truthfulness, reason, and memory belong to which category of God's communicable attributes?

intellectual

Which category of communicable attributes includes human agency, free will, creativity, and intentionality?

Volitional

Which Old Testament passage demonstrates all three persons of the Trinity involved in creation?

Genesis 1

In the Old Testament, who often appears, speaks as God, and receives worship reserved only for God?

the Angel of YHWH (the Pre-incarnate Son)

What New Testament event explicitly records all three persons of the Trinity present together?

Baptism of Jesus

At the Great Commission in Matthew 28, what does Jesus command His disciples to do?

Baptize in the single name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit

Which statement accurately reflects the historical development of the doctrine of the Trinity?

The word "trinity" is not in Scripture, but Trinitarian language appears in early Church Fathers by the early 100s and was formalized at Nicaea and Constantinople.

How are the personal relationships within the Godhead classically defined?

The Father is unbegotten, the Son is eternally begotten, and the Spirit proceeds from the Father and the Son.

What are the specific roles of each person of the Trinity in salvation?

The Father sends the Son, the Son accomplishes salvation, and the Spirit applies it.

What does the eternal community of the Trinity teach us about God's fundamental nature?

God is relationship

What is the core premise of the Cosmological Argument for God's existence?

Everything that begins to exist has a cause; the universe began to exist; therefore, the universe has a cause.

The Teleological Argument for God's existence is primarily based on what observation?

The intricate design, fine-tuning, and order observed in the physical universe

What does the Moral Argument assert about objective moral values and duties?

Objective moral values and duties can only exist if they are grounded in an objective, personal God.

Which term refers to God being infinite in relation to space?

Omnipresence

How does the study guide illustrate God's endless supply of communicable attributes to us?

As an infinite ocean sitting above our heads that slowly drips drops of those attributes onto us

In the Old Testament, plural language like "Let us make man in our image" appears in which of the following passages?

Genesis 1:26, Genesis 11:7, and Isaiah 6:8